BIÑAN, LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES (September 28, 2026) — Fifty years ago, the University of Perpetual Help System JONELTA Laguna (UPHS Laguna) first opened its doors to Filipino families seeking a brighter future for their children. On Friday, as around 2,000 students, faculty, staff and university leaders gathered to celebrate its Golden Jubilee, the institution turned its focus to a crucial question: Who has yet to walk through those doors?

That question shaped UPHS Laguna’s 50th anniversary celebration at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan, Laguna, where the University looked back on five decades of education, healthcare and service while laying out its vision for the generation ahead.

At the heart of the celebration was a ribbon-cutting for a 50th Anniversary installation built in the form of a doorway. The tunnel-like structure traces the growth of the University through its Biñan and Pangasinan campuses, combining historical displays with video interviews and interactive activities on LED screens. More than a record of where UPHS Laguna has been, the installation was designed as a passage between the University’s past and its next chapter.

That next chapter was the focus of the anniversary address by Senior Executive Vice President Mark Tamayo.

“Fifty years ago, our founders decided that the best thing they could do with their lives was to be of service to the country,” Tamayo said. “Our responsibility now is to carry that same purpose into a country that looks very different from the one they knew and to reach the families who are still waiting for an opportunity.”

For UPHS Laguna, that means expanding its reach in the years ahead. The institution intends to enter markets where Perpetual Help does not currently have a presence and double the number of students it serves within the next five years.

But Tamayo framed that ambition not as growth for its own sake, but as an extension of the University’s original purpose.

“We are not chasing growth for its own sake. We are chasing families we have not reached yet.”

That ambition builds on an institution whose graduates have already carried their education and professional skills beyond the Philippines. More than 3,374 licensed UPHS graduates have been deployed globally since 2006 through Perpetual Help Placement Services International, while the institution maintains 51 international linkages across Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The anniversary also placed today’s students at the center of the celebration. Four UPHS student bands performed during the pre-program, while the formal celebration brought together students, faculty, staff and university leadership before concluding with a performance by Filipino alternative pop band Over October.

The presence of students was fitting for an anniversary that was ultimately about the future. As UPHS Laguna looks toward its next 50 years, its ambition is not only to reach more students, but to continue raising what a Perpetual Help education makes possible — what students can do, where they can go and who they become.

For students in the Philippines and beyond, that increasingly includes opportunities to pursue careers and professional pathways across borders. UPHS Laguna’s international graduate deployment and partnerships reflect the broader role of education in connecting students with opportunities in an increasingly mobile region and global workforce.

That vision remains grounded in the University’s enduring principle: “Character Building is Nation Building.”

For UPHS Laguna, the next 50 years will not simply be about building more campuses or serving more students. It will be about opening more doors — and making sure more Filipino families have access to greater opportunities, wherever those opportunities may lead.